Automobile.



No. 699.028. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

A. L. SIMPSON &. H. B. PALMER.

AUTOMOBILE.

(Appliation filed Dec. 4, 1901.

(No Model.) 2 Sheik- Sheet l.

M65 WM. By %EYS l m: uonms PEYERs 00., woroLm-u. WASHINGTON n, o.

Patented Apr. 29,1902 A. L. SIMPSON &.'H. B. PALMER.

No. 699,028; I

A U T 0 M 0 B l L E'.

(Application filed Dec, 4, 1901.)

2 Sheets8heet 2.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES: gm 9, MM

1o particularly of the type employing storage A UNITED STATES PATENT ,IOFFICE.

ALFRED 1ss oHsIMPsoN AND HARRY BUCHANAN PALMER, on NEW YORK, N. Y.; SAID PALMER ASSIGNOR TO SAID SIMPSON.

AUTOMOBILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,028, dated April 29, 1902. Application filed Decen1ber 4,1901. Serial No. 84.669. (ll'o model.)

To aZZ whom/it may concern:

of the United States, andresid-ents of the city.

of New Yorkfboroughof Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Automobile, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description. V

Our invention relates to automobiles, more batteries.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference'indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a vehicle'partly in section on the line w a", in Fig. 2 and showing our device in elevation; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the vehicle, showing our device in elevation,'certain details being in section. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan of the motor and its immediate connections.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan of the sprocket-- wheel upon the rear axle. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section showing our buckle-joint and its i'mmediate'connections, and Fight is an inverted plan of the frame upon whichthe' motor is pivoted. A

-The storagebattery is carried upon -the body of the vehicle, and the motor issus pended immediately beneath the bed of the same, being normally free to swing slightly;

By means of a brace, the length of'wh'ich can.

so arranged as-to bereadily disconnected, so

as to allow the storage battery to be charged. The battery is chargedby means of a flexible shaft connected with some extraneous source axle 4 of the rear Wheels is revoluble, and

mounted rigidly upon this axle is a rear sprocket-wheel 5, which is connected by a sprocket chain 6 with the front sprocket wheel 7, which is mounted rigidly upon the shaft 8. This shaft is journaled upon the motor-casingand is provided with agear 9, which meshes with a pinion 10 upon the armatureshaft 11.

Located centrally beneath the bed of the vehicle isa rigid frame or plate 12, provided with apertures 13 14, as indicated more clearly in Fig. (5. This frameis also provided with apertures lithe-upper and lower parts of which are provided with resilient blocks 16, one disposed above and the other below the pivotal shaft 17 for the purpose of cushioning the said pivotal shaft 17, and thereby giving the motor more or less resilience directly upward and downward. Located upon opposite ends of said frame 12 are buffers, the same comprising cylindrical members 18, preferably of rubber and mounted on the longitudinal jstems' 19, which are swiveled or loosely mounted by means of the heads 20 in the frame 12. The stems are merely inserted through the holes in the plate, so that the 'heads 20 lodge in the apertures 13 14. The cylindrical rubber members 18 are next placed upon the said longitudinal stems/and the nuts 21,-which are threaded for the pur pose, are screwed upon the lower portions'of said stems and tightened by means of the nut locks 22. 'By this arrangement the buffers are rendered adjustable.

The motor-casim 25 is sus ended from a yoke 23, which is provided with oppositely-disposed lugs 24, and these lugs have cup-shaped apertures26, in which the-lower ends of the longitudinal'stems 19 have more or less play.

The object of this arrangement is to allow the lug's'Z l to accommodate themselves to the position of the longitudinal stems 19, as the mo-' tor may assume slightly-different positions.

By means of the adjustable nuts above described one of the rubber cylindrical mem bers can be shortened and the other lengthened, so that the motor can bemade to normally rest in different predetermined positions. -By means of these adjustable nuts may also be regulated.

IOO

the tension of the cylindrical rubber members One end of the shaft 8 is provided with an angular head 27, which is used in actuating the motor by means of an external source of power for the purpose of charging the storage battery. In this case the motor acts as a dynamo, as above explained.

From the motor-casing depend two lugs 28, which support a transverse rod 28, upon one end of which is pivoted a tubular rod 29. Another tubular rod 30 is pivotally connected to a lever 31, which has a guard-plate 32. The pivotal connection between the guardplate and the tubular member 30 is shown at 33. By means of a thumb-screw 34 the guard plate 32 is secured to the tubular member 30, thus rendering the lever as a whole and the tubular member practically integral for the time being. The upper end of the lever 31 is pivoted to the tubular member 29 by means of the-joint Screws 36 serve to fasten the parts securely together. The tubular members 30 and 37 are provided with threaded disks 38, rigidly secured thereto and internally provided with screw-threads for the purpose of engaging the two threaded ends 40 of a turnbuckle 39. The object of this arrangement is that by turning the turnbuckle 39 with a wrench or other appropriate means the tubular members 30 and 87 are drawn together or forced asunder, as the case may be, thus lengthening or shortening the brace as a whole. The tubular member 37 is provided with-a bearing 41 for engaging the rear axle, which is revoluble as above described. The flexible shaft 40 is only used when the motoris to be employed as a dynamo for the puropse of charging the battery. In such event it is connected to some source of power,such as a gas-engine 4C2. (Shown in Fig. 2.) By means of flexible wires 43 the storage batteries 42 are connected with the motor.

Our invention is used as follows: Supposing that the storage battery is exhausted, the motor is connected with the gas-engine in the manner above described and is actuated by said gas-engine until the batteries are properly charged. As any motor can be used as a dynamo, this action will be readily understood. In order that the movements of the motor when used as a dynamo may not turn the wheels of the vehicle, the gearing is disconnected while the battery is being charged. In order to readily disconnect the gearing, all that is necessary is to disengage the thumbscrew 34, which enables the lever 31 to turn transversely to the general direction of the tubular members 29 and 30. The sleeve 30" is moved to the left from the position indicated in Fig. 5 for this purpose. After the battery is charged the screw 3% is replaced, and the brace is then rendered rigid, and the sleeve 30 is slipped back into place. The flexible shaft 40 is disconnected from the angular head 27 of the shaft 8, and the ma-.

chine is ready for use.

By adjusting the nuts 21 and locking the same by means of the nut-locks 22 any desired degree of tension can be given to the buffers, as above described. It the vehicle in traveling along a road strikes a stone, the motor, together with its casing and gearing, is thrown forward and'then immediately rebounds, the bufiers taking up all unnecessary lost motion. As the longitudinal stems 19 play loosely upward and downward through the holes in the plate 12, there is practically no limit to the amount of spring given to the butters, except the limit of elasticity in the rubber cylindrical members 18.

We find in practice that this arrangement of buffers upon the motor is highly eificient and saves the machinery from severe strains and shocks. We find it preferable to arrange the buffers upon opposite sides of the motor and at opposite ends of the plate 12 in order that the buffers may rest firmly against said plate or frame. By this means the swinging of the motor either backward or forward is received directly against the under side of the vehiclebed, which being loaded with the storagebatteries and passengers is practically unyielding.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An automobile,com prising a wheeled vehicle provided with depending lugs, an electric motor suspended from said lugs and mounted free to swing, gearing connecting said motor to a wheel of said vehicle, a lon-' gitudinal brace connecting said motor with some rigid part of said vehicle, and provided with a movable joint for shortening the sam e, and a thumb-screw for normally holding said movable joint in a predetermined position.

2. An automobile,comprising a wheeled vehicle provided with depending lugs having apertures,a horizontal bar extending into said apertures, blocks of rubber located in said apertures above and below said horizontal bar for supporting the sameand allowing 9. limited springy motion thereof, a motor suspended from said bar, and means for connecting said motor with a revoluble member of said vehicle.

3. An automobile,comprising a wheeled vehicle provided with depending lugs, an electric motor suspended from said lugs and mounted tree to swing, four additional lugs attached to said motor, bolts attached to said lugs, on which are mounted rubber buiTers, said bolts being adjustable at the four corners to enable said rubber buffers to be tightened and adjusted at will, said bolts passing through said bufiers and up into the frame from which the motor is hinged, thereby giving the motora limited spring horizontal motion.

4. An automobile,comprising a vehicle-bed provided with a longitudinal frame rigid therewith, a motor pivoted centrally to the said frame and provided with oppositely-disposed groups of lugs, and oppositely-disposed 6. An automobile,comprisin g a vehicle having a frame provided with holes, a motor pivoted upon said frame and provided with lugs, longitudinal members swiveled in said holes, and buffers connecting said frame with sai lugs upon said motor.

7. An automobile,comprising a vehicle having a frame provided with holes, a motor pivoted upon said frame and provided with lugs, longitudinal members swiveled in said holes and provided with screw-threads, buffers surrounding said longitudinal members, and adjusting-nuts engaging said screw-threads for governing the tension of said buffers.

S. An automobile,comprisinga vehicle having a frame provided with holes, a motor pivotally mountedupon said frame and provided with cup-shaped lugs, longitudinal members swiveled in said holes and extending loosely into said cup-shaped lugs, said longitudinal members being threaded,-oylindrical cushions of resilient material adjacent to said longitudinal members, and adjustable nuts upon said longitudinal members-for tensioning said cushions, thev arrangement being such that the swinging of said motor causes said. longitudinal membersto reciprocate through said holes in said frame.

9. Anautomobile,comprising'a wheeled ve hicleprovided with a frame, a motor pivotally. connected to said frame and normallyfree to swing,buffers for cushioning the swinging motions of said motor, and a braceof variablelength for governing the position of the motor relatively to said vehicle.

10. An automobile, comprising a wheeled vehicle provided with a frame, a motor pivotallyconnected to said frame and normally free to'swing,buffers for cushioning the swinging motionsof said motor, means controllable at will, for adjusting saidbufiers relatively to said motor, and a brace of variable length for governing the position of said motor rela tivelyto said vehicle.

11. An automobile, comprisinga wheeled vehicle provided with a frame, a motor suspended from said frame and provided with lugs, saidmotor being normally free to swing, buffers connected with said frame and said lugs and disposed upon opposite sides of said motor for cushioning the same when swung in either direction, and a brace of variable length-for governing the tension of said motor relatively to said vehicle.

12. An automobile,comprising a wheeled vehicle providedwithaframe, a motor suspended, from said frame, bufiers connected with said motor and said'frame and disposed on opposite sides of said motor for cushioning the same when swung'in either direction, means controllable at will,foradjustingsaid bufiers, and a brace of variable length for governing the position of said motor relatively to the vehicle.

d3. An-automobile, comprising a wheeled vehicle, an electric motor mounted upon said vehicle and normally free to swing relatively thereto, gearing connecting said motor with awheel of said vehicle, means for disconnecting said gearing, and buffers for cushioning the swingingmovements of said motor.

14...An automobile, comprising awheeled vehicle, an electric motor mounted upon said vehicle and normally free to swing relatively thereto, gearing. connectingsaid motor with a wheelof said vehicle, a longitudinal brace for normally holding said motor in a predetermined position, means for. virtually changing the length of said brace to allow the gearing to be disconnected, and buffers for cushioningthe swinging motions of said motor.

15. An automobile, co mprisinga wheeled vehicle, an electric motor mounted uponsaid vehicle and normally free to swing relatively thereto, gearing connecting said motor with the running-gearof the vehicle, mechanism for normally holding said motor in a predetermined position, andbuffers located upon opposite sides of said. motor to cushion the swinging motion thereof in opposite directions. ,7

16. An automobile, comprisingawheeled Vehicle, anelectric motor mounted upon said vehicleand normallyfree to swing, gearing connecting said motor with a wheel of said vehicle, buffers for cushioning the swinging ofsa-id motor, a brace connecting said motor with some rigid part of the vehicle, means for virtually shortening the brace,-andmeans controllable at will, for adjusting said buffers and thereby changing the normalpos-ition of said motor relatively to said wheel of saidvehicle. Y 1

.17. -An automobile, comprising awheeled vehicle provided'with astorage battery, .an electric motor pivot-ally mounted upon: said vehicle, gearing connecting-said .motor with a wheel of'said vehicle, a rigidilongitudinal member for normally holdingsaid motor i-n;a predetermined position ,bufiers disposedu'pon opposite sides of said motorfor cushioning the same in two directions,-and screw members for adjusting the normal tension of: said buifers.

In testimony whereof we have signed our resence of 

